The goalie for the United States World Cup soccer team, Tim Howard, is having quite the week – his heroics in the recent soccer game vs. Belgium are considered a master performance and one that has garnered him a great deal of attention. Howard also has been very open about having Tourette’s Syndrome, a neurological condition often characterized by repetitive and involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. He is profiled in this Washington Post article, “How Tourette’s afflicted Tim Howard went from International Ridicule to World Cup History.”
For more on Tourette’s Syndrome, and in particular, a discussion of the complex genetic and other factors, please see the NIH’s page on the condition.
From their page: “Genetic studies also suggest that some forms of ADHD and OCD are genetically related to TS, but there is less evidence for a genetic relationship between TS and other neurobehavioral problems that commonly co-occur with TS. It is important for families to understand that genetic predisposition may not necessarily result in full-blown TS; instead, it may express itself as a milder tic disorder or as obsessive-compulsive behaviors. It is also possible that the gene-carrying offspring will not develop any TS symptoms.”
To hear Tim Howard talking specifically about Tourette’s and how it has impacted his life, see this recent video here.